Games Decepticons Play
by Blue Buick R
Summary: <html><head></head>Megatron dares, Starscream accepts.  They both regret it.</html>


Title: Games Decepticons Play

Summary: Megatron dares, Starscream accepts. They both regret it.

His grip on Starscream's ankle was like an iron band and jerked the flyer's ascent short with jarring force. He nearly tumbled down onto Megatron, the planned result, but managed to make the instantaneous and minute adjustments to his thrusters and balance required to keep himself aloft but tethered. He looked down at the large hand encircling his leg and foot, following the line of the attached arm up to the huge shoulder and finally across to his wickedly grinning face.

"Give up Starscream, there is no escape!" Megatron crowed, flexing his grip in emphasis, the metal underneath buckling and denting in a slow ache.

"You claim overconfidence is my weakness," Starscream hissed. "But I believe you suffer from a similar affliction!"

Megatron scoffed. "There is no bravado here, I have you!"

Starscream tilted his head. "Do you now?"

His frowned, sensing something intangible, but his hold did not falter.

Bracing himself for what he was about to do Starscream raised his arm, talons stiff and outstretched. Megatron's smirk returned, anticipating an ineffectual blow from his second, but it morphed into shock just as quickly as Starscream swept his arm around to bury his claws into his own side. It was a precise strike and deep, for his intended target was buried under a myriad of components specifically to prevent a breach during battle.

It must have hurt like the inferno and Starscream nearly faltered, but he impressively managed to keep his reaction to an undignified but not embarrassing gasp. A moment later he abruptly jerked his hand out of his side, the withdrawal most likely as painful as the initial stab. Converted energon fuel poured from the wound, some of it raining down on Megatron's face in a softly glowing shower, the majority flowing down Starscream's hip and along the channel of his outstretched arm to run down his brawny chassis.

Megatron shook his head, attempting to clear his eyes of the leaking fuel. "What madness is this you conniving little fool?" he literally spat; more fuel on his lips and tongue, bitter to taste.

Flyers processed a large portion of the energon they consumed into what was essentially jet fuel. It was one of the reasons they required more energon than the average Cybertronian, and a logistical problem the Decepticons continuously battled during the war. It also tasted like slag for while it was made from energon it was not meant to be eaten but to be burn…

Megatron's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare!"

Starscream chuckled, "you should know by now, Mighty Megatron, I would indeed!" With that he fired a laser blast straight at Megatron's chest, the shot hardly noticeable through his heavy armour.

The conflagration which followed the ignition of the fuel, however, was impossible to ignore. The explosion rocked Megatron back, his hold Starscream's ankle faltering, searing heat engulfing his head, chest plate and arm. He bellowed as he was thrown back; through the flames he saw Starscream tumble from the air, the force of the blast sending him careening across the scrubby desert in a storm of dust and fire.

There was an eerie silence which followed as his audio receptors reconfigured; the fuel having burnt out almost instantly upon detonation he stared up at the cloudless blue sky, his face feeling scoured.

The first thing he heard upon his sensors realigning was a wavering chortle which petered off into a pained groan.

"Starscream you wretch," he growled.

There was a pause in the sounds of distress before Starscream's voice filtered over to him. "That didn't turn out exactly as I hoped."

Hauling himself up onto his elbows Megatron peered over across the blackened ground to see his singed second in command sprawled against a boulder; one hand was held over the self inflicted gashes, one leg curled under him while the other stuck out, the once captive foot and ankle crumpled and useless.

"Really!" Megatron snapped, rising not altogether steadily to his feet. "You could have blown us both to pieces!"

"Hardly," Starscream drawled. "And you have no one to blame but yourself. You want to play war games with me, fine, then live with the consequences!"

"They are tactical training sessions," he snarled, stalking over to the other mech's side, looming over him. "But why I expected sanity and restraint from you is beyond me; perhaps I should have Soundwave perform a full systems scan!"

Using the boulder as leverage Starscream managed to worm his way up onto his one good foot, perched unwaveringly before Megatron.

"Do not speak of restraint to me. YOU crushed my pede! I was responding appropriately!"

"A dented foot does equate with an energon explosion!" Megatron barked in exasperation.

"When it's my foot it does!"

Looking down to examine said delicate foot, and then up to the wounded side, Megatron took a step back giving Starscream a modicum of space.

"You're out of fuel I take it," he asked casually.

"Obviously," Starscream sneered.

Nodding his head Megatron turned and began to walk away. "Very well," he declared, "training session over."

"What are you doing?" Starscream yelled hobbling after him.

"I'm heading back to base," Megatron informed him before he leapt to transform.

"Wait," Starscream called up to him as he hovered. "What about me?"

"You?" Megatron purred. "You can walk!"

With that he kicked in his thrusters, performed an impressive loop and rocketed away.

Fin


End file.
